Alfawise T1 Review: What is better to buy mini PC or full PC 2018?

Alfawise T1 is another mini PC based on the Intel LAKE Celeron processor, got to my review.

The Alfawise brand belongs to the online store GearBest. Underneath it, the store orders OEM suppliers to manufacture a small number of consumer electronics, which includes several models of TV set-top boxes, a robotic vacuum cleaner, some accessories for a smart home, and the mini-PC that has been the subject of this review.

A distinctive feature of the device is the price. Perhaps this is the cheapest mini PC on the market with Intel Celeron processor.

Alfawise T1 Mini PC

Its cost is below the psychological barrier of $200 and lies at the level of the upper segment of TV boxes.

Well, in the review in detail we will consider what this mini-PC is.

Alfawise T1: Specifications

Alfawise T1:

Specs

CPU:

Intel LAKE Celeron N4100

GPU:

Intel HD Graphics 600

RAM:

4GB

ROM:

64GB

Maximum External Hard Drives:

2TB

OS:

Windows 10

Interface:

3.5mm Audio, DC-in, 2xHDMI, Mic, RJ45, TF card, Type-C, 2xUSB3.0

Size:

160x134.5x32mm

Weight:

407g

Price:

$200

Alfawise T1: Design and Appearance

The mini-PC is delivered in a square cardboard box with the T1 logo on the lid.

Open the box, pull out the device lying on top and get access to the rest of the contents.

The complete set of delivery: Alfawise T1, power supply, HDMI-cable, the instruction to the PC, and PC Holder.

The Alfawise T1itself in our review is a metal box with sides of 16 × 13.45 cm and a height of just under 3.2 cm.

This is approximately 2 – 2.5 times the size of a typical single-board computer based on ARM architecture, but almost 2 times smaller than the Apple Mac mini. Or 2 times less in height than the Intel NUC.

On the right side of the Alfawise T1 in our analisis are two USB 3.0 ports, a connector for SD cards and USB Type-C port.

Behind is the power button, power connector, two HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm audio output and a hole behind which the Reset button is hidden.

At the bottom are four rubber feet and a perforated zone for ventilation. There are also two screw holes that are incompatible with a typical SSD or HDD mount of storage.

Alfawise T1: Hardware and Performance

It’s time to drive out a few synthetic tests.

Initial data: processor Intel Celeron N4100, 4GB of RAM, Windows 10 64-bit. Updates are installed in part because of a catastrophic lack of free disk space.

Testing the speed of the internal drive in CrystalDiskMark yielded the following results: 131.1 MB/s reading and 90.1 MB / s recording.

Built-in graphics Intel HD Graphics 600 scored 2000 points in 3DMark06. This is slightly good than the GOLE F2, and the processor in the Alfawise T1 in the analisis is newer and the integrated graphics system should be at least as good.

With FullHD playback, the computer copes without problems, the load on the processor from the video player does not exceed 20% at peak moments (during rewind).

Normally, the Alfawise T1 manages to play online video in high quality.

When you play a video from YouTube in 1440p in the browser Edge, the CPU utilization is up to 40%.

Alfawise T1: Software

The Alfawise T1 in the test has a licensed 64-bit Windows 10 Home. The first time you start the configuration, and when you connect to the Internet, the system is automatically activated.

The built-in 64GB drive is divided into many subsections for the functioning of Android as the second OS. Under Windows, a 15 GB partition is marked, on which the only 6GB is left out of the box.

This amount of system drive is sorely lacking: when you connect to the Internet, Windows automatically starts downloading updates and clogs them all free space. In this case, there is no more space to install the downloaded updates.

So for normal operation, you need to either put some tweaker Windows 10 and forcefully disable all updates in it, and merge the space it occupies with the Windows partition. The second option is preferable.

Alfawise T1: Testing

Due to its size, the mini PC is well suited for building a minimalist workstation. Wired mouse and keyboard are needed only at the first connection – after which they can be replaced with wireless analogs because the Bluetooth-adapter is present as a built-in module.

As a result, we have a neat little box that practically does not take up space on the table, from which only two wires run: HDMI to the monitor and power to the nearest outlet. Or three wires if an Ethernet connection is used.

These 2-3 wires neatly come from behind and do not rush the eyes, the blue LED on the front panel lights up, the system works absolutely silently. In general, a paradise for the perfectionist.

Alfawise T1: Connection

Built-in Alfawise T1 in adapter Wi-Fi “saw” 20 wireless networks. For comparison in the same room, GOLE F2 with an external antenna was able to detect as 17 networks and a laptop 15 networks.

Measurement of the speed of Wi-Fi connection in Speedtest.net service showed a download speed of 60.45 Mbps and a download speed of 54.41 Mbps. At the same time, the real speed of the Internet channel is 100 Mbit/s.

For web surfing will be enough and this speed, but heavy content without pauses will not be able to reproduce. If you go back to photos of the Alfawise T1 in the review insides and see what kind of short and short wiring is the antenna, the low performance of the wireless adapter will not be surprising.

If you need a stable and high-speed connection – to our services gigabit Ethernet port. As an option, you can upgrade the antenna, for this, you do not even need to solder anything.

Alfawise T1: Energy consumption

When on, the Alfawise T1 consumes 2.5 watts with zero CPU load and up to 16.7 watts at 100% load. Average power consumption at a natural oscillating within 10-70% of the load is 8W.

Alfawise T1: Impressions

The power of the mini PC is enough to perform simple office and multimedia tasks. It starts when the operating system rolls update packages, immediately they are scanned for viruses with the built-in Antimalware-module and begin to be installed, while all new updates continue to swing in parallel.

The developers of Windows 10 did not care about how comfortable it would be for the user to undergo the process of updating on weak machines.

In other cases, when updates are not swinging and not being installed, the system works very quickly.

Of course, with an amendment to the fact that we initially do not expect a budget and economical solution to the power of the top i5 and i7 assemblies.

Dual OS is a pure marketing chip, completely unnecessary and unviable on this configuration.

Linux from the device must be removed without fail, divided into a bunch of small partitions eMMC-drive to merge into a single partition, to store user data using a USB flash drive or SD card. Then the use of the computer will be as comfortable as possible.

Alfawise T1: Conclusions and Reviews

Alfawise T1 in our review is a good mini-PC and the cheapest device in its segment. It works silently, consumes little energy, you can even not turn it off when used at home.

During testing, the cooling system pleasantly surprised, coped with heating even under extreme loads.

Alfawise T1: Price and Where to buy cheaper?

Right now you can buy Alfawise T1 mini PC at the exciting and low price for only $199.99 from May 14 to May 20. This is an interesting price both for its performance and energy consumption in 2018.